Tue, Dec 10, 2013 page19

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  SOCCER

  Wolfsburg crush Freiburg

  VfL Wolfsburg extended their unbeaten run to eight matches with a 3-0 win at strugglers SC Freiburg on Sunday to climb up to fifth in the Bundesliga table. Die Wolfe raced into a 2-0 lead after only 11 minutes as Germany Under-21 forward Maximilian Arnold netted with a deft touch before ex-Bayern Munich star Luiz Gustavo laid the ball off for Croatia’s Ivica Olic to blast home. Freiburg squandered a couple of clear chances before Wolfsburg defender Marcel Schafer came off the bench for Olic to score their third in extra-time. Freiburg remain third from bottom with a third straight defeat and to make matters worse, had French midfielder Francis Coquelin carried off with a suspected broken ankle just after the break. Hertha BSC stayed seventh and kept hosts Eintracht Braunschweig rooted to the bottom of the table with a 2-0 away win

  Colombia striker Adrian Ramos headed Berlin into a first-half lead, before 20-year-old midfielder Tolga Cigerci added a late second with his first for the club.

  CRICKET

  S Africa beat India in ODI

  Openers Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla smashed centuries as South Africa walloped India by 134 runs in a rain-reduced one-day international (ODI) at a subdued Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban, South Africa, on Sunday. South Africa’s win gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series played in honor of former South African president Nelson Mandela who died on Thursday last week. The game was reduced to 49 overs a side, but De Kock (106 from 118 balls) and Amla (100 from 117 balls) lifted the atmosphere with a magnificent 194-run opening stand that helped the home side reach 280 for six having been inserted by India. India never recovered from a poor start, slipping to 34 for four in the ninth over, as the South African fast bowlers found life in the pitch. India were bowled out for 146 in 35.1 overs. Amla became the fastest player to reach 4000 ODI runs when he took his score to 59, passing the milestone in his 84th match (81 innings).

  GOLF

  Bjorn stuns to win Nedbank

  Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn finished 20-under-par to win the EPGA’s Nedbank Golf Challenge on Sunday, his 15th on the European Tour. The 42-year-old carded a final-round 65 for a total of 268 at the Gary Player County Club in Sun City, South Africa, finishing ahead of Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Jamie Donaldson of Wales. Bjorn hit two eagles on the back nine to stun Garcia, who also struck 65. It was Donaldson who had led the way entering Sunday, having been a model of consistency, hitting 67s either side of a second-round 66. He began in the manner one might expect given his advantage heading into the final day, producing four successive pars. Birdies at five and seven added some impetus, but Donaldson gave a shot back at the ninth to ensure he Garcia for company at the summit. With his iron play stupendous, the Spaniard began with back-to-back gains that were complemented by three pars in a row. As solid a beginning as that was, further fireworks were necessary and he proved up to the challenge, producing a streak of four birdies from the sixth. All the while, Bjorn stayed hot on their heels courtesy of strokes picked up at two, six and nine. However, it was after the turn that he really caught fire, producing a stunning eagle at 10 to suddenly leapfrog the pair. The Dane ultimately finished two strokes ahead of Garcia and Donaldson. The latter ended his week with a disappointing 70, a birdie on 17 representing his only one coming in.
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